Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE OLD OAK TREE, by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES Poet Analysis First Line: I sit beneath your leaves, old oak Last Line: The stars turn over leaves of light. Alternate Author Name(s): Davies, W. H. Subject(s): Environment; Oak Trees; Environmental Protection; Ecology; Conservation | ||||||||
I sit beneath your leaves, old oak, You mighty one of all the trees; Within whose hollow trunk a man Could stable his big horse with ease. I see your knuckles hard and strong, But have no fear they'll come to blows; Your life is long, and mine is short, But which has known the greater woes? Thou hast not seen starved women here, Or man gone mad because ill-fed -- Who stares at stones in city streets, Mistaking them for hunks of bread. Thou hast not felt the shivering backs Of homeless children lying down And sleeping in the cold, night air -- Like doors and walls in London town. Knowing thou hast not known such shame, And only storms have come thy way, Methinks I could in comfort spend My summer with thee, day by day. To lie by day in thy green shade, And in thy hollow rest at night; And through the open doorway see The stars turn over leaves of light. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BLACK NIKES by HARRYETTE MULLEN ISLE OF MULL, SCOTLAND by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE SABBATH, 1985, VI by WENDELL BERRY PLANTING TREES by WENDELL BERRY THE OLD ELM TREE BY THE RIVER by WENDELL BERRY A BIRD'S ANGER by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES |
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